Why NMC Health Plc’s (LON:NMC) Cash Is A Factor You Need To Consider

Simply Wall St
July 30, 2018

Two important questions to ask before you buy NMC Health Plc (LON:NMC) is, how it makes money and how it spends its cash.
What is left after investment, determines the value of the stock since this cash flow technically belongs to investors of the company.
I will take you through NMC Health’s cash flow health and the risk-return concept based on the stock’s cash flow yield, using the most recent financial data. This will help you think about the company from a cash perspective, which is a crucial factor to investing.

What is free cash flow?

NMC Health’s free cash flow (FCF) is the level of cash flow the business generates from its operational activities, after it reinvests in the company as capital expenditure. This type of expense is needed for NMC Health to continue to grow, or at least, maintain its current operations.
I will be analysing NMC Health’s FCF by looking at its FCF yield and its operating cash flow growth. The yield will tell us whether the stock is generating enough cash to compensate for the risk investors take on by holding a single stock, which I will compare to the market index. The growth will proxy for sustainability levels of this cash generation.

Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flows – Net Capital Expenditure

Free Cash Flow Yield = Free Cash Flow / Enterprise Value

where Enterprise Value = Market Capitalisation + Net Debt

Along with a positive operating cash flow, NMC Health also generates a positive free cash flow. However, the yield of 0.41% is not sufficient to compensate for the level of risk investors are taking on. This is because NMC Health’s yield is well-below the market yield, in addition to serving higher risk compared to the well-diversified market index.
LSE:NMC Net Worth July 30th 18

What’s the cash flow outlook for NMC Health?

Does NMC Health’s future look brighter in terms of its ability to generate higher operating cash flows? This can be estimated by examining the trend of the company’s operating cash flow moving forward.
Over the next three years,
a double-digit growth in operating cash of 85.75% is expected. The future seems buoyant if NMC Health can maintain its levels of capital expenditure as well.
Below is a table of NMC Health’s operating cash flow in the past year, as well as the anticipated level going forward.

Current

+1 year

+2 year

+3 year

Operating Cash Flow (OCF)

US$277.51m

US$315.10m

US$417.63m

US$515.48m

OCF Growth Year-On-Year

13.55%

32.54%

23.43%

OCF Growth From Current Year

50.49%

85.75%

Next Steps:

Low free cash flow yield means you are not currently well-compensated for the risk you’re taking on by holding onto NMC Health relative to a well-diversified market index. However, the high growth in operating cash flow may change the tides in the future.
Now you know to keep cash flows in mind,
I recommend you
continue to research NMC Health to get a
better picture
of the company by looking at:

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St is a financial technology startup focused on providing unbiased, high-quality research coverage on every listed company in the world. Our research team consists of equity analysts with a public, market-beating track record. Learn more about the team behind Simply Wall St.

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